I don’t think I truly realized just how lucky I was to have you in my life until the moment you laid eyes on our first daughter. It wasn’t the moment you saw her come into the world but the moment I saw you holding her once the noise became silence and the reality of being a parent started to set in. I remember feeling weak, tired, and sore. Despite those physical feelings; I also felt overwhelmed with love, admiration, and gratitude as I watched you look at her new face.
I watched you hold this tiny body in those big arms of yours so gently that I could tell how careful you were being. You were so captivated by her existence that I couldn’t help but stare in awe. The man that I knew as a strong and masculine support had softened in a way that only a parent can understand. That was the moment I saw you as a father like no other.
It isn’t in the ways that you smile without realizing or the moments that you make our daughter’s smile appear without effort. I think it’s the way that you care about her happiness. It’s in the way that you can show her the beauty of the world in our very own home. You have shown me that my decision to raise a family with you was probably the best damn thing I could have done in this life.
There have definitely been moments where the softened man I see has struggled. But the struggles have been educational and momentous for all of us. You’ve persevered through countless sleepless nights. You’ve endured plenty of tantrums. And let’s not forget the physical and emotional messes you’ve cleaned up without question.
I always say that you are the better parent. As much as you laugh it off or dismiss those words I hope you know how true they are in my eyes. You inspire me! You make me want to be a better person and a better parent. Your patience and natural instinct are something I hope to one day encompass. Above all of this though, I hope you see that you are the father I never knew I would have and always wanted for one of my favorite little people on this earth. Soon enough you’ll be that to two of my favorite little people. You showed me that a father’s love is unconditional. You showed me that a father can be strong in the most compassionate way. You’ve also shown me that my girls will never have a doubt in their mind that their dad won’t protect them at all costs and love them beyond measure.
Thank you for being the dad I think anyone would wish for. Thank you for being the rock that grounds us but the teddy bear our daughters will look to from this young age well into their journeys into adulthood. Thank you for all of the laughs that have filled many of my favorite memories. Thank you for giving me the most beautiful human on the planet. But most of all thank you for being a father like no other.